It definitely helps to have no expectations. For the past 50 years pilot jobs have been somewhat the same, but with the recent advances in technology I think the risk/reward ratio will get worse for pilots. You can already see the negative impact that the strive toward 100% efficiency is having. I'm talking about looking at the big picture and not just taking a snapshot of the last decade. Most other fields are in the same predicament however.
When you are planning to go into any profession you have to analyze the risk/reward ratio and see if it makes sense.
The great thing about US pilot rules versus ICAO rules is we can take a couple years off and come back like nothing happened, versus ICAO where you would lose your certificates.